He Used to Smile Like That
by Hermione's Shadow
Summary: He used to smile like that, back when his family was alive. He thought it had died when they had, but now as he watched his team, his new family, he thought that just maybe he could smile like that again one day.


He Used to Smile Like That

A/N: Ok, so this popped into my head after getting to see Mark Harmon in person on the Lopez Tonight show (I got to sit less than 5 feet away from him, it was AMAZING). Anyway, watching him I realized that his smile DEFINITELY rival's Tony's smile, we just never get to see it because Gibbs never smiles like that, so henceforth, this idea popped into my head, reviews would definitely be appreciated.

Disclaimer: yeah I know I don't own them, though I wish I did just so I could hug them all at least once

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Gibbs sighed as he stepped out of MTAC and allowed himself a small smile. It was rare to have case end as cleanly and happily as this one had. A Marine stationed in Iraq an ocean away, his 13 year old daughter kidnapped and held hostage by homegrown terrorists wanting secrets; it could have ended horribly. Instead, he had been able to tell the Marine just before his flight home took off that his little girl would be waiting for him when he landed. She was a little shaken up and had a few scrapes, but other than that had been fine, just anxious to see her daddy.

As he stood on the walkway in front of MTAC he allowed himself a moment to lean over the railing and watch his team. Once again, they had made him proud and showed everyone why they were the best team the agency had to offer. They had worked for 48 hours straight, no breaks, they had barely even napped over the last two days, working tirelessly, chasing down every lead that came their way no matter how small. Now all that was left to do was the paperwork; the part of the job that every agent hated. As he watched his team gathered together, Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy included, he decided that for once it could wait until tomorrow. Tonight he would let his team enjoy their success. For once there were no bodies, the entire team was safe and injury free, the bad guys were either dead or on their way to Gitmo. In their line of work, happy endings like this were far and few in between, so tonight, he would let them savor it.

He watched as Ziva said something and the whole group burst into laughter causing her to shake her head in obvious frustration. 'Must have mixed up another idiom,' he thought to himself smirking. He glanced over at Tony who was smiling. He watched Tony watch Ziva, his trademark 1000 watt smile lighting up his face. As he watched a thought pushed its way up to the surface, 'I used to smile like that.' He doubted anyone on his team would believe it now, but there had been a time, many years ago, when his smile could have easily rivaled Tony's. That was back when he was married to the love of his life with a precious little angel that thought the world of him. Back then it didn't take much to bring out that smile. It was the simple little things in life that did it, Shannon cooking in the kitchen, Kelly playing in the backyard, Shannon laughing, Kelly running into his open arms. When they died though, so did that smile. And every person he'd loved and lost since then had chipped away at the small smile that remained. Oh he still grinned every now and then, at the antics of his team, or rather children when they behaved like they were behaving now, when he solved a case and gave a family closure. He'd come close to finding that smile again a couple of times, like after his dad had surprised him with the car, but even then, it hadn't quite been that smile.

As he watched his team slowly gather their belongings and start to head out together, his senior field agent turned and caught his eye and smiled before nudging Abby. He said something to her and a moment later she was signing to him. Did he want to join them for dinner? He considered the question for a moment before surprising himself and them by answering yes. As they stood there waiting for him to join them with happy smiles on their faces, one more thought crossed his mind; maybe he could find it in himself to smile like that again one day. He had lost one family years ago, but he had gained another family. Sure it was dysfunctional at best, but that didn't mean the cared or loved each other any less, and that in itself was something to smile about.

A/N: just a friendly reminder to please review ^_^


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